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Codelco Chile says it is still searching for missing workers at El Teniente Mine

Andres Musik, El Teniente’s general manager, said that Codelco had not yet contacted five workers who were missing at the Andesita Unit of El Teniente following a seismic event which killed one person.

He said that Codelco expected the aftershocks to subside in the next twelve hours, which would allow it to start efforts to contact the workers.

Music stated in a recent press conference that "the event we recorded yesterday was one of, if not the biggest event" the El Teniente Mine has ever experienced.

He noted that the incident was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake.

Andesita was one of Codelco’s newest projects, located at the El Teniente complex. It was scheduled to start production in the second half of this year.

Music didn't address how the incident will affect Codelco’s output in the producing areas of mine. Codelco will report its financial results on Friday as originally scheduled.

Codelco is investigating the cause of the accident, according to music.

He said that although explosives or drilling did not cause the incident, mining activities can sometimes trigger seismic events in El Teniente.

Chile is also prone regularly to earthquakes with varying magnitudes.

(source: Reuters)